Kathryn Roy Mom's View: Academic Achievements Should be Celebrated

My husband and I have always tried to instill in our children a strong commitment to doing their best in school. School is our top priority. We push our children, finishing up their fourth- and second-grade years, to challenge themselves academically and to put forth their best effort. So we were quite proud of our daughter, Lauren, 9, when she was recognized for her strong academic achievement recently, and we made sure to let her know.

Both Lauren and Owen have been ahead of the curve academically since they started school. While they may be naturally “smart,” I like to think our involvement in their education is partly the reason for their success.

Both children are busy with sports and other activities, but school work always gets done first. If they bring home a test or other school assignment, I look them over, and go over any mistakes with them to make sure they understand the concept next time. I communicate with their teachers, if necessary, about assignments or progress.

Near the end of the 2011-2012 school year, after Lauren took her first standardized test, she was invited to take an exam as part of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth “talent search.”

The exam, two grade levels above a student’s current grade, was designed to test a student’s abilities on concepts they had not yet learned in school. Lauren decided to take it. She said some of the material was difficult, but we figured it didn’t hurt to have made the attempt.

Several weeks later, the results arrived in the mail. Lauren easily made “high honors” on the English/language arts portion of the exam, while missing that distinction on the math portion by one point. Her results meant she was qualified to take part in any number of online courses, enrichment programs, trips and other activities.

We have not yet taken advantage of any of these programs, but the honor of this recognition is not lost on us. Lauren received a certificate in the mail, and recently was invited to Yale University to a special ceremony for area students who did well on the exam. At first, my husband baulked at attending the ceremony – it was, after all, about an hour’s drive away. But then we thought, we ought to make a big deal of any and all academic achievements.

Lauren walked away from the ceremony with a small Johns Hopkins University pin in a tiny satchel, and photos to remember the day. And we had the opportunity to visit the Yale campus on none other than graduation day, where we talked about how working hard can result in a great college education.

Indeed, we spent half the day driving to the ceremony on a spring day we could have used to do yard work or any other home projects. But opportunities to celebrate our children’s achievements are few and far between. We want to make sure our children know that academic achievement leads to a promising future.
Kate Roy can be reached at kate_roy@live.com.